Perpetuum

Perpetuum Overview

Perpetuum is a sci-fi MMO where players become deployed agents or contractors for one of the major mega corporations of Earth to the strange land of Nia. After the discovery of this new planet overflowing with natural resources companies from across the globe want to be the first to colonize and harvest its goods. Unfortunately, this world is inhabited by electronic alien life-forms that do not appreciate the sudden human invasion. The
corporations have invested trillions in this venture referred to as the Perpetuum Project which involves training agents and sending them to take over the planet by force. Players control their own giant armed Mech to move through the foreign terrain and complete their assigned objectives. Whether it’s to clear the area of troublesome robotic locals or to collect precious raw material failure is not an option. Much like EVE Online this is a complicated and challenging science fiction based game. It features sandbox style gameplay similar to Planet Calypso. Players choose a mega corporation to work for and later can found their own private organization. Schools, specialties, subsidiary corporations, and Nanobots are also selected to create a player’s character.

Mega Corporations:

Truhold-Markson – USA based company that starts agents on the island of New Virginia. Assignments contribute to the great plant to conquer Pelistal Empire. Players use ballistic weapons.

Asintec – Asian corporate battling Thelodica Clan’s forces in the midst of the Daoden Zone. There agents have an arsenal of lasers at their disposal.

Schools/Professions:

Ponter-Lassax Institute of Modern Warfare, Houston – Become a military specialist with vast modern warfare knowledge. They feature high attributes in tactics and mechantronics.

Scouner Academy of Agricultural and Industrial Research, San Jose – Masters of interplanetary mining. This profession has the highest attributes in research development and heavy industry.

Academy of Corporate Clustering, Boston – Economic processes & general logistics connoisseurs. This school has strong attributes in politics and economics.

Perpetuum Screenshots

Review

Perpetuum Review

By: Ange Perdu

Perpetuum is a sci-fi MMORPG set in the future on a planet known as Nia. Players step into the role of an agent or contractor working through an Earth based Mega Corporation. Assist in the mining of raw materials and colonization efforts of the new world. Humans use sparks also known as Nanobots to maneuver through the land and fight its inhabitants. Use a variety of attached firearms, lasers, and missile launchers to destroy alien robotic life forms. Gather rare resources using thermo maps and high tech Geoscanners. There is only one server creating a persistent world for players to explore. Complete various assignments to earn coins for purchasing cool attachments and weapons. Roam around aimlessly taking in the desolate scenery or blast away at other players in an open sandbox style setting.

Duties of a Deployed Agent, the Gameplay

This isn’t the average point and click MMO. Agents operate a fully functioning mech that’s equipped with not only weapons but computerized tools for completing certain tasks. The game starts off with a somewhat difficult tutorial covering the basics. Players have to follow an extremely detailed procedure to execute relatively simple actions like shooting another robot or mining resources. In an open PvP environment performing complicated steps can be frustrating at times. Most of the gameplay involves tackling corporation assignments and eliminating the alien presence on the planet. All quests or assignments are optional. The reward for accomplishing a particular assignment is usually a large payment of NIC credits that serves as the in-game currency. It can be used to buy necessary items and equipment to advance a player’s mech. Tasks often vary from transportation to destroy and recover missions. Carry data consoles to a designated delivery point. Patrol the perimeters of a specific area and kill any spotted robots. Each mission lists the equipment needed, main objective, and estimated completion time. For example the patrolling task requires a weapon module, at least 200 pieces of ammunition, and an armor repairer module in order to fix any damages that may occur. The completion time for most assignments is a full hour. Similar to EVE Online the gameplay is very challenging. When an assignment has been accepted visible points appear scattered throughout the terrain marked as lettered red dots. They turn green once they’ve been reached or the connected objective completed. Assignments can also involve harvesting or mining.

Using the Geoscanners

Perpetuum features a complicated mining and crafting process. In order to activate the mining modules agents must first set a target by opening the landmarks window. Then they have to follow several time consuming steps until the process is complete. There’s a lot of tedious clicking and information gathering. Although using the Geoscanners and thermo maps to analyze the planet’s material is an innovative and engrossing concept at times it’s also tedious. Red patches indicate dense areas while yellow displays scarce commodities within a target. Players actually have to wait while the computerized scanner is processing the information and then upload the data for reference. The authenticity is impressive. Complete assignments for enterprises requesting collecting stermonit or perform imentium scans to expand your mineral map. Raw materials can be sold or refined into commodities in the refinery. Mining serves as another method to obtain credits in the game.

When Robots Attack

The planet Nia is a volatile world. The WASD keys are used for movement through the various vegetation and desert-like terrains. Robotic aliens or other players can attack atany time so agents must be prepared. Most zones are free for open PvP combat. Players have to stay stocked in ammo and continuously upgrade their Nanobots with the latest machinery to withstand attacks. Much like Planet Calypso the sandbox environment allows others to wander around and fire at unsuspecting mechs. The combat is fun. Players can join up with friends for heavily populated alien areas or wage war against others. Equipping your Nanobot with advanced shields, lasers, and cannons provides a significant advantage in battle. There’s a wide variety of weapons and armor attachments for greater defense available in the market.

Perpetuum has a great concept. Players are deployed agents on a planet rich in resources crawling with robotic aliens. They have to complete assigned objectives, fight mechs, and collect raw materials. There are plenty of robots to choose from but the steep learning curve and complex systems make the entire game seem slow paced. The expectations for pay to play games are usually higher. The graphics and controls could be better. Although Perpetuum has a lot to offer it still falls short in comparison to other titles. EVE Online gamers and robot fanatics may appreciate some of the cool features in the game. It’s worth checking out if you’re into sandbox style gameplay but it’s definitely not for everyone.